I Remember...

“Shout for joy, O heavens; rejoice, O earth; burst into song, O mountains! For the Lord comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.” Isaiah 49:13

Hey Lord…Do you see me here? I want to sing a song for you…something altogether beautiful…full of joy! Here I am hiding in your shadow, clutching the bottom of your cloak…following behind you. I wanted to be where you are…go where you are going and to see what you will see today. I just want to be with you. Spending time with you is always so peaceful…so exciting…so thought provoking…so easy. Our intimacy knows no boundaries. We are always discovering new things about each other…learning new ways to love each other. Your love for me always heals my wounds, gives power to my dreams and creates peace amidst the chaos.

It is in these tender moments that I let my heart open completely and pour out all my hopes, fears, joys and sorrows. Today as I talk to you I am remembering my dear friends…the women we love with such great ferocity and abandon.

I am remembering Ida, Jaja, Obia and Jane. They have struggled with pain and sickness for months now. They love you and call out to you to be their healer. HIV is eating away at their bodies and they seem powerless to fight it. But, you, my compassionate friend, can give them mercy and healing. You can encourage them in their deepest places. Tell them that their bodies are only temporary…their affliction will only last for a night, but your rest…your healing will last for all of eternity. Lord, my friends are crying…my friends are in pain…my friends are weak. You say that you are strong in our weaknesses, so send your great strength to them. I want to see your beauty in their lives…your strength in their weakness.

I am remembering Josephine, Susan and Betty. They have all lost someone they love recently to the grave. They are grieving and pouring out their sadness to your listening ear. Betty is weak in spirit and body and is lost in her despair over losing her granddaughter. Her heart aches and she wonders how she will go on living. Susan lost her mother last week and is nursing her gravely ill sister as well. She feels overwhelmed with grief, despair and exhaustion. Will her suffering ever see an end? Josephine lost her coworker and her friend. Her heart is left with a gaping hole where her friend’s laughter and love used to be. Lord, you long to comfort your people. Reach your arms around them and shower them with love. Lead them beside the path of grief and with your gentle healing hand turn their mourning into rejoicing. When they lose all their strength and their tears cannot be stopped give them your tender comfort and your magnificent strength.

I am remembering all the widows who are looking for school fees for their children. These women long to give their children a hope and a future…one where poverty cannot find them and where they can become all that God has created them to be. It is the deepest cry of their heart to pay the school fees of their children. Even now Ida is rejoicing that her daughter passed her exams and is now able to move to Senior 5. We rejoice with her! Oh great Jehovah, Provider…husband to the widow, open up opportunities for the children of these women to be in school. We thank you for the sponsors we have so far and pray for many more to come. We also ask that you open up scholarships and other sources of funding for these dear children. I also remember that you can do more than we can ask or imagine, so we will await your provision and praise you when it comes!

I am remembering the prayer you prayed for us when you were last here. You prayed that we would be unified and that we would love each other, so that the whole world would know that love was your deepest desire. Lord, please teach us to love each other. The widows of the Dorcas Widows Ministry want to be unified and to be great lovers of people. Where there is jealousy…root it out. Where there is disharmony…create peace. Where there is mistrust…speak your truth. Most of all, give us a deep abiding love for each other. Help us reflect your unity…your joy and more importantly you love.

Thank you for your love for us. Thank you for your provision. Thank you for your tender healing. I love you Jesus and I love following you. I just love being with you.